Differential Attainment or Outcomes or award (DA) is a euphemistic phrase that describes the historical and persistent differences in award levels based on factors other than academic/ professional capability or effort. The impact of this endemic discrimination of affected individuals/ groups has a profound impact on careers and wellbeing on a personal (micro) level on them, productivity, team-working or patient safety impact at organisational (meso) level and at a much larger societal/ socio-economic level (macro) level for the country.
This roundtable sponsored jointly by the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is the first of a series of events organised by the BAPIO Institute for Health Research (BIHR) exploring DA across the journey of a medical professional from entry to medical school all the way to retirement.
This roundtable is focussed on DA as observed in summative assessments in high stakes professional examinations, which are essential for entry, progression, or accreditation. The findings and recommendations of this series will be published in the rainbow paper “Bridging the Gap” celebrating diversity in the NHS. This report should be read in conjunction with the scoping paper which presents the evidence base for the discussion and recommendations.
Tuberculosis is a leading cause of infectious disease–related death worldwide; however, only 10% of people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis develop disease. Factors that contribute to protection could prove to be promising targets for M. tuberculosis therapies. Analysis of peripheral blood gene expression profiles of active tuberculosis patients has identified correlates of risk for disease or pathogenesis. We sought to identify potential human candidate markers of host defense by studying gene expression profiles of macrophages, cells that, upon infection by M. tuberculosis, can mount an antimicrobial response. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis revealed an association between the cytokine interleukin-32 (IL-32) and the vitamin D antimicrobial pathway in a network of interferon-γ– and IL-15–induced “defense response” genes. IL-32 induced the vitamin D–dependent antimicrobial peptides cathelicidin and DEFB4 and to generate antimicrobial activity in vitro, dependent on the presence of adequate 25-hydroxyvitamin D. In addition, the IL-15–induced defense response macrophage gene network was integrated with ranked pairwise comparisons of gene expression from five different clinical data sets of latent compared with active tuberculosis or healthy controls and a coexpression network derived from gene expression in patients with tuberculosis undergoing chemotherapy. Together, these analyses identified eight common genes, including IL-32, as molecular markers of latent tuberculosis and the IL-15–induced gene network. As maintaining M. tuberculosis in a latent state and preventing transition to active disease may represent a form of host resistance, these results identify IL-32 as one functional marker and potential correlate of protection against active tuberculosis.
Objective: To perform a health maintenance organization–based case-control study to evaluate the association of total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol with the risk of stroke subtypes and in patient subgroups. Methods: Cases had a confirmed incident ischemic stroke (n = 1,242) or hemorrhagic stroke (n = 313). Controls (n = 6,455) were identified in a companion myocardial infarction study. Risk of stroke was modeled using logistic regression. Results: The highest total cholesterol quintile was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke compared to the lowest quintile (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.0) with the strongest subtype associations for atherosclerotic stroke (OR = 3.2) and lacunar stroke (OR = 2.4). The highest HDL cholesterol quintile was associated with a decreased risk of ischemic stroke compared to the lowest quintile (OR = 0.8, CI 0.6 to 1.0). Subgroup analyses suggested that the total cholesterol association was more important for patients < 66 years of age and those with HDL < 50 mg/dL; the HDL association was more important for patients without diabetes or atrial fibrillation. The second through fourth total cholesterol quintiles were associated with a decreased risk of hemorrhagic stroke compared to the lowest quintile (OR = 0.7, CI 0.5 to 1.0). Conclusions: Higher total and lower HDL cholesterol levels were associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke, especially certain stroke subtypes and patient subgroups. The lowest levels of total cholesterol were associated with an increased risk of all hemorrhagic strokes.
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